Starting 5: Kentucky hits ‘The Shot,’ Tennessee survives Texas A&M, Alabama gets back on track

Welcome back to the Starting 5 basketball column. The Starting 5 is written each week by Adam Spencer to keep you in the loop about all the news and events in the world of men’s college basketball. You can follow Adam on X at @AdamSpencer4.

1. Opening Tipoff

It took 12,345 days, but the Kentucky Wildcats finally (kind of) exorcised a demon on Wednesday night in Baton Rouge.

No, the shot that Malachi Moreno hit against LSU didn’t have nearly the same stakes as the one Duke’s Christian Laettner hit in the 1992 NCAA Tournament to beat Kentucky and send the Blue Devils to the Final Four, but the shots did look similar.

Here’s Moreno’s shot:

And here’s a look back at Laettner’s:

In terms of a pure basketball shot, stakes set aside, Moreno’s was probably better. For one, LSU was pressuring the inbounds pass from Collin Chandler, who delivered the ball perfectly. Grant Hill didn’t have anyone in his face back in 1992.

Secondly, Moreno didn’t have time to do a dribble or a head fake. He had to catch the ball, land with his feet facing the basket, and go straight up with his shot.

It was an absolutely beautiful sequence.

Should Kentucky have needed the Chandler-to-Moreno heroics to beat LSU? Absolutely not.

It’s embarrassing that the Wildcats trailed by 18 early in the second half against an LSU team that’s dead last in my most-recent SEC hoops power rankings. But for a team that has been struggling to start SEC play, maybe this heroic shot sparks something moving forward.

Kentucky travels to Knoxville on Saturday to face rival Tennessee (more on that game later). Then the Wildcats host a suddenly red-hot Texas Longhorns squad on Wednesday. We’ll find out pretty quickly if Mark Pope’s team found something positive in that dramatic come-from-behind win over the Tigers.

2. Home-Court Advantage

As my colleague Connor O’Gara likes to say — 2 things can be true at the same time. First, the Tennessee Volunteers need more out of freshman sensation Nate Ament if they’re going to reach their lofty goals this season. Second, Nate Ament was magnificent (for the most part) during the overtime periods on Tuesday night at home against Texas A&M.

Ament scored 10 points in overtime to finish with 23 total points on a 7-for-16 shooting effort. You can’t teach size and ability like this:

Perhaps Texas A&M coach Bucky McMillan should have taught his defense to try to prevent Ament from getting to his left hand?

(Side note: The overtime periods might not have been needed if either team could make free throws down the stretch. Tennessee went 7-for-11 from the line in the final 4 minutes. Texas A&M was 6-for-11 from the stripe during that stretch. Not great.)

Everything Ament does is going to be scrutinized heavily this season. That comes with the territory of being a potential top-5 NBA lottery pick. He’s going to face criticism for his missteps that other guys with lower profiles and fewer stars next to their names wouldn’t.

For example — at the end of the first overtime, Ament had the ball down low, on the right side of the basket. The announcers mentioned that the Vols should have gotten him the ball sooner so he could go to work, and they’re right. However, Ament also should’ve sensed that the double-team was coming and adjusted. He didn’t, and it led to an awkward missed turnaround jumper. Double-overtime, here we come.

The important thing is that the Vols picked up the win, handing A&M its first SEC loss of the season. Did Ament unlock something in his game that will help him moving forward? We’ll see, starting on Saturday against rival Kentucky.

Now for some more notes from around the SEC:

• Here’s a stat: 42-24. That’s the margin by which Texas out-rebounded Vanderbilt on Wednesday night in Austin. It was the Commodores’ first loss of the season. Duke Miles was magnificent, as usual, pacing Vanderbilt with 21 points. But when you are dominated like that on the boards, it’s tough to win. Sean Miller is quietly turning things around at Texas after a rough nonconference slate. The Longhorns now have wins at Alabama and at home against Vanderbilt. The Horns host rival Texas A&M on Saturday before heading to Kentucky next week. Vanderbilt has a pair of high-profile games we’ll dive into later.
• I’m happy to report that my alma mater might be legit. Mizzou is going to be tough to beat in Columbia this year. Just ask the Auburn Tigers. Keyshawn Hall had scored 32 points in back-to-back games against Arkansas and Texas A&M before Mizzou held him to only 10. Mizzou is now in first place in the SEC heading into Saturday at 3-1 in league action. Dennis Gates has done a masterful job turning things around. However, he should make sure his team understands what a press is moving forward. The Tigers struggled mightily in the second half amid increased defensive pressure from Auburn, often dribbling into the exact worst spots on the court. That’ll come back to bite Mizzou if it doesn’t get corrected soon.

Next, let’s take a look at some of the other big stories from around the world of college hoops.

3. Around the World

Normally, when you go to Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, you can expect an 8-on-5 battle. I’m not just saying this as a bitter Mizzou fan (although that certainly does play into it a little bit) — strange things happen to Kansas opponents in that building. Phantom fouls, quick 5-second counts… you name it, it happens.

So it pains me to admit this… Kansas didn’t need any help to demolish No. 2 Iowa State this week. The Jayhawks, who fell out of the top 25 altogether, absolutely dominated the Cyclones, earning an 84-63 victory.

Freshman sensation Darryn Peterson, who might be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, doesn’t seem to be 100% healthy yet, but the Jayhawks still dominated. That’s a worrying sign. Don’t let this team get hot.

No, seriously… please don’t let this team get hot.

• The more things change, the more they stay the same. After Virginia lost legendary coach Tony Bennett to retirement, it struggled through a 15-17 campaign last year under Ron Sanchez. But now, under first-year coach Ryan Odom, the Cavaliers are absolutely back. The Hoos have already matched last year’s win total after going into Louisville and handing the Cardinals a 79-70 loss. They still play at the frustratingly slow pace that became their calling card under Bennett. They rank 264th in Division I in adjusted tempo, per KenPom. Now let’s enjoy these Malik Thomas highlights. He went 6-for-8 from 3 against Louisville, scoring a team-high 19 points:

• We tend to overrate just how difficult it is to travel all the way across the country to play games. Just ask North Carolina how hard it is. The Tar Heels went out to Stanford on Wednesday night and lost 95-90 to the Cardinal. The biggest reason UNC lost? The Heels couldn’t stop Ebuka Okorie, a freshman who put up 36 points in 36 minutes on 12-of-20 shooting:

• If North Carolina didn’t have “NORTH CAROLINA” on the front of its jerseys, I don’t think this team would be ranked. Hubert Davis should receive a lot more hot seat buzz than he’s currently getting. I think it’s quite possible UNC makes a change within a couple of years.

Next, let’s take a look at the week ahead.

4. Games to Watch

It’s a huge week for both Vanderbilt and Arkansas. We’ll start this section with a trio of games that feature the Commodores and the Razorbacks. Make sure you have access to ESPN for the next week, as the Worldwide Leader has all 5 of these games:

1. No. 19 Florida at No. 10 Vanderbilt — Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN — I absolutely cannot wait to watch this game. These are the top 2 teams in my SEC hoops power rankings. The reigning national champions against the red-hot upstarts (even though they just suffered a rough loss at Texas). If this game was at home for Florida, I’d pick the Gators to win. But I think Mark Byington and the Commodores are a beast at home. Just ask Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide.
2. No. 10 Vanderbilt at No. 17 Arkansas — Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN — Our only non-Saturday game on this list features the Commodores heading to Fayetteville. The Hogs have been dynamic at home this year. Darius Acuff Jr. against Duke Miles will be a must-see battle. If Arkansas can pull off this upset, I think the Hogs can position themselves to potentially win the SEC regular-season title.
3. No. 17 Arkansas at No. 21 Georgia — Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN — And to complete the trifecta, here’s Arkansas’s Saturday game this week. A road trip to Georgia could’ve been marked down as an easy win for most of the past 2 decades. Not anymore. The Bulldogs are playing an exciting brand of basketball under Mike White and look very much like an NCAA Tournament team.
4. No. 11 BYU at No. 15 Texas Tech — Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN — Texas Tech had BYU’s number on the gridiron this year, as the Red Raiders beat the Cougars in blowout fashion twice. Now the Cougars have a chance to get their revenge on the court. They’d love nothing more than to go silence a raucous crowd in Lubbock on Saturday night.
5. Kentucky at No. 24 Tennessee — Saturday at noon ET on ESPN — When these teams meet on the court, it’s always a spectacle to behold. Tennessee is clinging to a spot in the top 25 and just needed 2 overtime periods to hand Texas A&M its first SEC loss of the season (as we detailed above). If Nate Ament plays like he did against the Aggies, it’ll be tough for the Wildcats to pull off the upset on Rocky Top.

Now let’s hit one more topic from the world of college hoops before we get on with our day.

5. Buzzer Beater

Looking for an NBA Draft sleeper to buy stock in now? Look no further than Illinois freshman Keaton Wagler.

Currently mocked at No. 18 in ESPN’s latest 2026 NBA Draft projections to the Miami Heat, I think Wagler is good enough to sneak into the lottery. So does my buddy, Robert, who admittedly bought his seat on the Wagler bandwagon much sooner than I did.

After Wednesday night’s showing against Northwestern, though, I’m all in. He scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half to help the Illini pull away from the Wildcats late:

Sure, Northwestern isn’t exactly elite competition, but Wagler is a freshman and is showing that he has an NBA-level skill set. Plus, NBA teams love to take chances on high-upside young players over guys who have been in college for 6 years.

Don’t be surprised if Wagler ends up being a lottery pick when all is said and done. Could he be a more athletic Derrick White? A very raw version of Jamal Murray? Those are probably his high-end comparisons. I’m excited to see where he’s at in March.

Enjoy the Starting 5? Have a question? Want to yell at me about something? Follow me on X @AdamSpencer4 or email me at a.spencer@sportradar.com.

Adam Spencer

Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.